Where Preparation Meets Inspiration

Locker room photo

The women's lacrosse team gets some post-practice notes from Head Coach Kim Lowry in their new Durden Athletic Training Center locker room. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

The new Durden Athletic Training Center at Biddle Field opened its doors this winter, providing more than 22,000 square feet of strength training, sports medicine, meeting, event and locker space to Red Devils teams and the Dickinson community. The men's and women's lacrosse teams have moved into the new locker rooms, which provide more than 200 pro-style lockers as well as flat-screen monitors for film study, but the facility is also proving useful to teams whose seasons have yet to begin.

"Having a new athletics building to begin a brand new season will not only aid us in our preparation during the spring, but it will also remind us of all the people behind the scenes who believe in our program,"says Natalie Polk '15, a member of the field hockey team's leadership group. "Through the generosity of donors and alumni, we finally have all the resources at hand that we need to succeed. The only thing left to do is go out there and get the job done." 

Construction on the Durden Center, which was named to honor William G. ’71 and Elke Durden, began last February thanks to a $6-million leadership gift from Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters as well as gifts from roughly 130 alumni, parents and friends of the college. Dickinson will celebrate the new building with an April 12 dedication ceremony, which coincides with the college's first Red & White Day, a celebration of the past, present and future of Dickinson athletics featuring:

  • a carnival-style picnic highlighting the history of Dickinson athletics
  • tours of the new Durden Center
  • home games for men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball and men’s tennis
  • and family-friendly games and activities.

More student reactions to the Durden Center on social media

Published March 11, 2014